Raising Kaoru
by KaoruTheRandomBookworm
Summary: Before she was the New Girl In Town, Kaoru had a past. Found in a Chao garden and raised by many different families. Are Chao really as cute as we percieve them or is there something darker? What about the rest of Kaoru's life? What's the big secret?
1. Can We Keep It?

A chao was flying low around the chao garden and playing among the flowers when he heard a soft cry. Curious, he flew over to the noise and made a sound of surprise at what he found. Lying under a Japanese Cherry Blossom tree, in a little pile of fallen flowers, was a little chocolate brown hare, whimpering softly. The chao hovered cautiously, wondering how close he could get to the little hare. Nervously, he flew off and gathered other chao who were able to help bring the little hare over to the chao garden. The Chao chattered among themselves in their own language.

"Can we keep it?"

"It's adorable..."

"We need to help it..."

"Let's keep it...

"It smells like Japanese Cherry Blossoms..."

"Does it have a name?"

"I want to keep it..."

The Chao hovered over the little hare, watching her closely. One chao that had a knack for different languages hovered close to the hare. He was considered one of the most intelligent of the chao. He was completely dark blue except for his head which was a bright yellow. He brushed lightly against the hare's face, causing it giggle. "It smells like Japanese Cherry Blossoms...very...full of fragrance. Kaori..." he was saying aloud.

"What are you talking about, Tuan?" Asked an aqua chao whose arms and legs were dark red. He was amongst the most courageous of the chao, and the most protective.

"It needs a name, Acquila...The name Japanese name Kaori means fragrance. Which fits well with the hare well."

"More like fragrant if you ask me."

"Fragrant would be Kaoru, Acquila. It's a more masculine name, Kaoru is..." Just then, the small hare cooed. "I think she likes it," Tuan laughed softly. The two chao laughed together and word quickly spread of the new arrival. 'Kaoru,' the hare was deemed.

"Is she staying here, then?" A dark red chao with dull yellow arms named Peaches asked, very wary of the situation.

Tuan and Acquila looked at Peaches and shook their heads at him. "We have no other choice. Kaoru was left out here for a reason, and until someone comes back for her, we will keep her..." Tuan said.

"And protect her," added Acquila.

"I'm against this, you two." Peaches argued. "It's going to be the end of us. It shouldn't stay here long."

Tuan's eyes looked tired, but he shook his head. "Peaches, we will do what we can to help for however long it takes. You don't have to be happy about it. You just have to accept it."

"This isn't your choice, Tuan."

"Peaches, Kaoru is small. If we send Kaoru away, there is no way that little thing can survive on its own." Acquila started to argue with determination it his eyes.

"It's not your choice either, Acquila. Both of you know whose choice this is..."

Falon was a very old chao, fully gold with a small patch of olive green on the crown of his head, that many of the other chao respected immensely. When it came to any serious choices that needed to be made, many chao came to Falon for advice. Though he offered it as just advice, many chao took his word as law and followed his decisions.

Peaches, Tuan, and Acquila stood in front of Falon as Peaches explained the story of the hare that had shown up unexpectedly and that it was very suspicious for someone to leave a baby just outside the chao garden and how someone must be planning to kill the entire chao garden. Tuan and Acquila stood behind Peaches and slowly shook their heads.

When Peaches was done, Falon tilted his head and nodded at Tuan and Acquila, who started to tell the story of how the little chocolate hare was found and how she wouldn't be able to survive on her own. After all, they only planned to keep it until someone came back to claim her, they explained. Peaches glared at them the entire time they spoke.

When they finished their story, Falon nodded and flew past the three chao to the edge of the crystal blue lake where a bunch of chao were giggling as they sprinkled droplets of water onto the little hare's head. The hare only lay quietly with her eyes wide, staring up at all of the chao around her. "Kaoru..." some of the chao cooed at her as they giggled loudly. Falon flew amongst these Chao for a while and watched what happened among them. The little hare seemed to be a point of interest for the many chao that played amongst the lake. One chao flew over her and dropped Japanese Cherry Blossoms over Kaoru and another had made a crown of the little flowers to set on her head.

Falon smiled softly and turned as Acquila, Tuan, and Peaches flew up behind him. "The hare..."

"Kaoru..." Tuan corrected politely.

"Kaoru," Falon nodded, "I think it would be wise for her to stay here. She seems easy enough to take care of, and she seems like a great source of entertainment for all of us. I think it's a great idea. Do let me know if you decide to take care of her. I think it would be nice to observe her." With that, Falon flew away leaving Peaches to glare at Tuan and Acquila.

"Fine. You two go ahead and keep the hare, but the second someone comes to claim it, it's out of here," Peaches said as he flew away. "I'm watching you both."

Tuan and Acquila looked at each other for a few seconds. "I guess that puts you and me in charge of her," Acquila stated, flying closer to Kaoru.

"I guess it does..." Tuan agreed quietly.

* * *

**a/n**

**obviously...I'm assuming the plural of Chao...is Chao...**

**Also, I know this makes the Chao seem out of character but it's just background information for my character Kaoru in "New Girl In Town" and this story will most likely be more than one chapter. **

**Have a nice day and please review.**


	2. An issue

**ONE YEAR LATER**

Kaoru wobbled slightly as she walked toward the lake. As usual, a few Chao hovered over her, giggling. For the past year, Kaoru had been a huge source of entertainment for the younger chao, and watched over intently by the older chao. She was greatly taken care of in the chao garden and though she was too young to tell she was different, or even notice her parents weren't around, there were other people who _could_ tell, and they were the biggest threat to baby Kaoru.

"She _can't_ be allowed to stay here," Peaches was making his argument once again to Tuan and Acquila. Tuan and Acquila had grown tired of his argument about a week after Kaoru was founded and now chose to ignore him. "She's a disgrace to this ChaoGarden."

"Today's Wednesday, Tuan," Acquila yawned.

"I know. Is Falon going to observe her today?" Tuan answered as he looked up at the sky.

"I don't see why he wouldn't. He's observed her every Wednesday for the past year."

"Are you two listening to me?" Peaches yelled angrily.

"No," both Tuan and Acquila answered simultaneously.

"Do you think he actually observes anything?" Tuan asked flying away from Peaches, who only seemed to follow behind them to nag some more.

"I think he just watches her because it's relaxing to watch her. Don't you find it relaxing?" Acquila yawned again.

"I, for one, do not find it relaxing, at all." Peaches scoffed from behind them.

"Well, Peaches,' Tuan rationed, "no one is forcing you to stay around her. If you have such a big problem with her, you could always find a new garden." Peaches scoffed and flew away.

"Do you think he's really going to go find a new chao garden?" Acquila asked as they flew over to the lake and Kaoru.

Tuan sniggered, "I highly doubt it." He flew low and petted Kaoru's head, causing her to giggle. "But I _did_ hear that Peaches is gaining a following. A lot of people don't want her to be here. They are going to try to get rid of her." Tuan sighed loudly and patted Kaoru on the head a few times before rising to Acquila's level again. "We can't let them."

"I don't know what would make you think we would. Besides, do you really think they would go against Falon's wishes?"

"Of course we would!" A dark red chao with dark green eyes and tips of feet called from behind them. "Falon is getting old, weak. We are considering his wishes and realizing he is getting soft. We can't allow this hare to stay here. She will be the destruction of us."

"Now, now Dianthus, it was agreed that Kaoru would be allowed to stay here until someone came to claim her," Tuan tried to rationalize.

"It's been a year, Tuan! Obviously no one is coming, and if that is the case then she will be here forever. We cannot allow that. We can't let her learn the secrets of the Chao and the Chao garden. I cannot believe someone as wise as you can't seem to grasp that when she is older she will be able to destroy us all. People all over the world see us as gentle creatures! If she stays here, it's only a matter of time before she learns our language and everything about us! We cannot allow this! Tuan! Are you listening to me!"

Tuan and Acquila had floated closer to Kaoru and grabbed her hands. She looked up at them with wide eyes. "She's so young, how can you possibly think that of her? If we raise her right, she wouldn't even think to do any of that," Acquila stated. "If we make her leave, who know what would happen to her."

"That is not our problem," Dianthus hissed coldly. "_She _is not our problem."

"She is now!" Acquila yelled at Dianthus. "She _is _our _responsibility_. We _took her in_."

"He is right, Dianthus," Tuan said quietly. "She should be our main priority while she is here." Tuan took a deep breath and his eyes narrowed into slits. "And she _will_ be staying here."

"Twan? Twan...Kay?" The voice was small, so small that is almost went unnoticed. Tuan and Acquila jumped slightly when they heard it and stared down at Kaoru in surprise. "Twan...Kay?"

Dianthus narrowed his eyes down at the three of them. "And so it starts. She's learning to speak Chao. Just wait until everyone hears about this."

Dianthus flew away, though it went unnoticed to Tuan and Acquila. "I...What?" Acquila stammered as he stared at Kaoru.

"I think she sensed how upset we were. I think she is trying to ask me if we are okay," Tuan spoke slowly.

Hearing Tuan, they were quickly surrounded by a large group of the younger chao.

"She's speaking?"

"That's so cute!"

"I want to teach her some words!"

"Tuan! Your name was her first word!"

"It's adorable how she can't pronounce your name."

Kaoru's eyes filled with tears and she began to whimper, "Twan?"

"I think you guys are scaring her," Acquila said. "There's too many of you talking at once, do you mind?"

"Oh! Of course not!"

"She's just so cute!"

"We'll go now, bye you three."

The group dispersed quickly and both Tuan and Acquila started to pet Kaoru's head.

"It's okay," Tuan said.

"We won't let anyone hurt you," Acquila promised.

* * *

**A.N. **

**I'm not so sure about this story. But I'll see where it will go. **

**The anti-kaoru group is getting intense. **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. **

**Have a nice day and please review. **


	3. The Issue Grows

Kaoru giggled loudly as she splashed around in the water. A pink chao hovered above her, watching her closely. "Hello, little thing."

"Hewwo," Kaoru giggled.

"My name is Candy," the chao said as she hovered closer to Kaoru.

"My name Kaowu," she said, tilting her head to the side.

"I know, silly girl," Candy flew closer to Kaoru. "What are you doing, sweetie?"

"Playin'," Kaoru splashed water up towards Candy.

"Playing? Oh, that's very interesting. So what about Tuan and Acquila? Do you know what they are up to?"

Kaoru stopped splashing and her ears twitched, "Twan?"

"That's right, honey, Tuan," Candy spoke fast.

"Kiwa?" Kaoru's ears twitched again.

"Yes, yes, Acquila." Candy flew even closer to Kaoru.

"Twan, Kiwa!" Kaoru giggled loudly and looked past Candy.

Candy looked behind her and flew away from Kaoru when she saw Tuan and Acquila flying towards them.

"What are you doing, Candy?" Acquila asked accusingly.

"I'm just talking to the little dear," Candy said in a sweet voice as she patted Kaoru's head. "Nothing more than that, Acquila."

"We thought you had joined forces with Peaches in that little group to get rid of Kaoru," Tuan stated.

"I have," Candy said stiffly. "I just came here to investigate the little twerp. I needed to see for myself how she is affecting our garden."

"Oh really," Tuan shook his head slightly, "and what have you concluded?"

"She's learning our language, Acquila. No outsider has ever learned our language before. This cannot lead to anything good. She needs to leave before the language stays in her memory forever. I think she is still young enough to forget all of this. Why would you jeopardize the fate of our garden?" Candy's voice had started to fill with rage as she continued on with her rant. "There is no reason for this thing to stay here any longer, and I believe we should get a group of us to take her far away from here."

"The agreement was that Kaoru could stay here until someone came looking for her. She is way too young to go anywhere on her own. She would never be able to take care of herself at this age!" Acquila argued loudly.

Kaoru's lip jutted out and tears filled her eyes. "Kiwa?" she whimpered.

"Now if you don't mind," Acquila finished, lowering his voice. "We have a hare to take care of and I don't believe you need to be here for this." Acquila flew down and hovered over Kaoru's head, patting it. "It's okay, Kaoru. I'm sorry for yelling."

Candy flew away from Kaoru and hovered next to Tuan. "You two need to get rid of her. Soon," Candy hissed at Tuan before flying away.

Tuan sighed to himself. Taking care of Kaoru was becoming a lot harder with her growing older and with the organization of this group Peaches had started. He watched as Acquila played with Kaoru and as Kaoru giggled, he smiled. Kaoru was definitely one of the cutest things around the chao garden, but with the rising popularity of the anti-Kaoru group, he knew it would be unwise to keep Kaoru here much longer.

As Tuan watched Kaoru, Acquila looked up at Tuan, his eyes filled with sadness. Tuan nodded his head once and knew that with that nod, a fate would be sealed for Kaoru. They would have to take her away from here. Whether they stay with her or not would be left up to destiny, but under no circumstances could she stay here.

This meant that there would be a lot of planning involved. Starting with how to move Kaoru. Tuan sighed again. They would probably have to wait until Kaoru was a little better at walking, until she was more comfortable with walking long distances. Tuan shook his head. They would have to wait at least another year, but this meant new safety precautions would have to be taken. Someone would have to watch Kaoru at all times and keep her away from the poisonous minds of Peaches, Candy, and anyone else in that group of theirs. It's going to be nearly impossible to pull this off.

* * *

**A.A.N.**

**Well, this will have to do it for this chapter. Mostly because I'm running out of things for Tuan to worry about. This is getting pretty racy isn't it? I hope it's reeling people in. I really like this story, but sadly, it's not my top priority at the moment. But I already know how I'm starting the next chapter, so that's a good sign. **

**Twitter: BookwormKaoru. In case you want to see how the stories are going. **

**Have a good day and please review. **


	4. Falon

Falon flew low over Kaoru. He was staying close enough to watch her, but not so close as to attract Kaoru's attention. She was moving slowly through the trees, stopping constantly to observe whatever may have caught her attention.

"Hello, Falon," Tuan said flying up to the old Chao.

"Hello, Tuan," Falon said as he continued to follow Kaoru.

"Falon," Tuan started, following after him, "I don't know if you've heard, but..."

"Yes, Peaches is causing quite a disturbance, isn't he?" Falon said serenely.

"You've heard about that?" Tuan said, slightly taken aback.

"Yes well, you spend enough time around this garden and you start knowing what to expect from certain chao," Tuan nodded.

"O-oh, I see, well..."

"And I expect that you and Acquila would like to take Kaoru away from the garden, yes?"

"Well, yes..."

"I expect you can't leave now, because Kaoru seems too young to travel long distances, yes?"

"Exactly, you see, if we were to leave now she would..." Tuan stopped talking as Kaoru fell over. She jutted out her lower lip and tears filled her eyes. "Well, she would do an a lot of that."

Tuan and Falon flew down towards Kaoru as she silently pouted to herself. Tuan glanced over at Falon who was petting her head. "Falon," he said, "is it strange that she never cries aloud?"

Falon nodded slightly, "I think it's just her character showing. Our garden is a peaceful place. Maybe she knows that crying would cause a disturbance." Kaoru giggled loudly and the hint of a small smile played on Falon's lips. "And maybe she knows that her giggle is something welcomed around this garden."

Falon and Tuan flew away from Kaoru as she stood up again and continued her trek through the trees. "Not everyone welcomes her giggle, Falon," Tuan said in a serious tone.

"And I expect she knows that, too. Don't worry so much, Tuan. Kaoru may be young, but I think she knows more about what is going on here than most of us. I expect she can sense what everyone is feeling. She'll be a strong one when she's older. You may underestimate her sometimes, Tuan."

Tuan watched as Kaoru found a small bed of Japanese Cherry Blossom petals and began to play in them. "You may be right, Falon, but that doesn't stop the fact that she is too young to travel with us."

"I won't argue with you there, Tuan. It make take some time before Kaoru can walk as long a distance as you are planning, but that doesn't mean there aren't other things you can teach her while you wait."

"What do you mean?"

"Continue to teach her our language. Although some of the chao may not like it, I happen to think it's wonderful that someone else can understand us. I would be great if others were able to understand us, also."

Tuan nodded slightly, thinking this over in his head.

"And, Tuan, I think you should teach Kaoru to fly."

Tuan jumped slighly when Falon said this, and he couldn't seem to comprehend what Falon meant. "Falon, Kaoru doesn't have wings. How could she possibly fly?"

Falon smiled and flew low over Kaoru, who had laid down in the bed of petals and fallen asleep. He petted her head a few times, and looked up to make eye contact with Tuan for the first time since the conversation had started. He smiled widely, "Don't worry, Tuan. You'll figure it out."

He then flew away from Tuan and Kaoru, leaving Tuan slightly perplexed.

Tuan watched Kaoru as she slept, but he didn't seem to see her. He seemed to be staring off at a far away place in the back of his mind. Kaoru giggled in her sleep every now and again, causing Tuan to smile, though he didn't notice it. He was too busy thinking about what Falon had said. Does Kaoru sense more about the chao garden than we do? And what did Falon mean about teaching her to fly. She's not a chao, and she doesn't have wings. Why would Falon say something so ridiculous? And if he knew how to teach Kaoru why wouldn't he do it himself? Or at least tell Tuan how to? Why be so vauge about it?

Tuan sighed and petted Kaoru's head. There was only one thing he knew for sure. All of this thinking was going to give him a headache.

* * *

**A.N. **

**Well would you look at that. I updated this story twice in under twenty-four hours. Anywho. I have to go catch a plane, so there won't be anymore updating today. **

**I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Also, I'm putting this Chapter up without running it through spell check. So I hope it's okay. Thanks bunches. I'll probably run it through spell check and such when I land. Please don't hate me if there are mistakes. **

**Have a nice day and please review. **


	5. Figuring It Out

Tuan was trying to explain to Acquila what exactly Falon had told him, but still couldn't make sense of it himself. Kaoru flying seemed impossible in his mind. In no way had Kaoru shown any sign of taking flight. Eventually, Tuan ended up confusing himself and lapsed into silence, trying to work out everything in his mind.

"How long do you think we have to get her out of here before something big happens?" Acquila asked him.

Tuan looked across the lake at the group of people gathered around Peaches. Most of them were listening to what Peaches was saying, others seemed content with glaring at Tuan and Acquila, and a fair few were flying away from the group and hovering around Kaoru's head. They seemed to be taunting her. Peaches glanced at the taunters and then looked at Taun, smirking.

Tuan suddenly knew exactly what Peaches was thinking and realized just how soon they needed to escort Kaoru out of the Chao garden. They weren't going to get the extra year that they wanted so Kaoru could learn to walk.

When he turned to tell Acquila this information, he realized Acquila had left to chase off Kaoru's taunters and that he was already walking her towards a group of playing young Chao. As of late, Peaches's group had left Kaoru alone if she were playing with the young chao or chao that were fond of her. It was when she was alone that they descended upon her and she had been staying alone quite a lot lately. It was smart of Acquila to bring her with the young chao, where she was safe from the bullies.

As Acquila flew away from her, Kaoru waved at his unseeing back and then walked a short distance away from the younger chao. She wasn't alone long, one of the chao followed her and started to show Kaoru how to make a sand castle.

Tuan smiled and when Acquila returned, he thanked him.

"A lot of people have gotten close to her, including me," Acquila said in response. "It kills me a little when I see how many people hate her." Tuan nodded silently as he watched Kaoru play in the sand. "Sorry, now what were you saying before I left."

"I think I know what Falon meant but teaching Kaoru to fly. He may have said 'In the meantime,' but I think he meant 'instead of.' Instead of waiting for her to learn to walk, we should teach her how to fly. It'll be faster, and the reality is that we just don't have the time to have her learn how to walk. Flying will also lower have stamina more slowly. We won't have to rest as much, so we'll be able to get farther away in a shorter amount of time." Tuan nodded to himself. It was perfect. Why hadn't he figured it out sooner. He must have needed that smirk from Peaches to snap it all into place. "Falon knows he is losing influence around the garden. He also knows that something bigger is coming, and he probably knows how soon. He just wanted me to figure it out myself so I'd be more likely to believe it," Tuan was mumbling.

"Do you think he wants to come with us?" Acquila asked.

"Come with us?" Tuan had never really considered the idea to ask Falon to come, but it did make sense. "I don't think he'd do it. He may want to, but I think he feels a responsibility to the garden the same way that we feel a responsibility toward Kaoru. As long as their are the innocent chao, he won't go. He knows they need someone to stay by them. He knows that if he leaves, Peaches's group with take over everything. Right now they just like rebellers, but if he were to leave they might become anarchists." Tuan looked sadly into Acquila's eyes. "He's not going anywhere, even though we know it may be dangerous for him to stay here."

Acquila suddenly felt conflicted. Falon was someone to be respected, someone who needs protection. A part of Acquila felt like he should stay and make sure nothing happens to Falon.

"Don't even think about it, Acquila," Tuan said, knowing what he friend was feeling. "He'll never hear of it. He's getting old and Kaoru needs more protection than he does right now. She has her whole life ahead of her."

Acquila scanned the garden for a sign of Falon but couldn't find him. Instead, his eyes landed on Kaoru who was now standing on the outside of the young group of chao, her ears twitching as she listened to what they were saying. He knew that Tuan was right. "How long do you think we have to get her out of here?" he asked Tuan.

"Two weeks."

* * *

**A.N. **

**I know I haven't updated in forever, but truthfully it's kind of hard to update this story because I don't know if people actually like it, or the characters, enough to actually continue on. I know where I'm going with the story, but I'm focusing more on the stories that I know people like. This one will continue to be updated though, so no worries. **

**Also, in case some of you read New Girl In Town, don't worry, Kaoru learning to fly in this story will not create at continuity issue with that one. I know what I'm doing with that issue and it may seem weird now, but in the end I know how to tie up the loose bits. **

**Have a nice evening and Please review. **


	6. BunnyCopter

In the next week, Falon followed Kaoru around more than usual. He watched as Tuan desperately tried to get Kaoru to flap her ears like wings. Acquila, on the other hand, spent most of his time circling a perimeter around Kaoru. He wanted to make sure no one from Peaches's group wandered too close to her.

"Come on, Kaoru. Like this," Tuan fluttered his wings right in front of her face.

"Tickles, Twan," she giggled when he accidentally brushed her nose.

"Yes, yes, I know," he sighed. "Can you do it for me though?"

Kaoru closed her eyes tightly and concentrated as hard as she good. There were a few seconds of Tuan looking at her ears hopefully and then she hiccupped, causing her to giggle again.

Suddenly, Tuan let out a loud sound of frustration, dropping to the ground and putting his face into his hands.

"Tuan," Falon dropped next to him. "Look." Tuan looked up and saw that tears were in Kaoru's eyes, her lip jutting out.

Tuan immediately felt bad and smiled at Kaoru to show her everything was okay. "I'm sorry," he said. "Come here."

Kaoru shuffled over to him, staring at the ground. "I sorry, Twan. I bad."

"You're not bad, Kaoru," he mumbled. He flew up and kissed her nose. "You're adorable...Now I think we should try one more time."

"I don't think so," Acquila said, flying down. "Let her go play for a while. She's getting tired. She won't be willing to do anything if she starts to get cranky"

Tuan looked over at her as she was rubbing her eyes, yawning widely. "Go play, Kaoru," he said. "It's almost bedtime."

"I play wit Twan?" she asked. "And Kiwa?"

"No, no. You can go play with someone else, okay?" Acquila said. For some reason, Kaoru started to pout again.

Falon flew in. "I'll play with you Kaoru," he smiled.

"Yay! Fally!" Kaoru bounced to the lake and started to splash around, waiting patiently.

Falon smiled at Tuan and Acquila."Ah, the innocence of youth," he said before following her.

"What is it, Acquila?" Tuan asked, flying to rest under a tree.

"There's not much time left," Acquila said, joining him.

"I know," Tuan sighed. "I've gotten nowhere." Acquila let Tuan reflect in silence for a while. "Maybe we should just leave the night before. We can start walking while everyone is asleep and hopefully by the next morning we will be far enough away that no one will want to look for us."

"I think we have to leave tonight," Acquila announced.

"What? Why? We have another whole week!"

"I don't think we should leave it to the last minute. The longer we wait, the more likely it is that someone will find out we are going to leave. Someone might try to stop us. Or even follow us. If we don't go tonight, we should at least go tomorrow. If we wait, we might jepordize Kaoru's safety and I don't think I'll be able forgive myself if something goes wrong."

Tuan looked away from Acquila. He knew that Acquila was right and he wondered how long it had taken Acquila to come to this conclusion. He looked around the garden and straight into the eyes of Falon who was smiling proudly. Falon gestured upward indicating that Tuan show look above him.

"Twan!" Kaoru giggled from a high tree branch. "Look!"

"Kaoru!" Tuan gasped. "How did you?"

Falon let out a throaty chuckle and flew over to them. "She's fine. She just got excited."

"That still doesn't tell me how..."

"Kaoru!" Acquila called to her. "Did you learn a new trick?"

"Yeah, Kiwa!" she giggled again.

"You should come down here and show me!" he tried to keep his voice steady.

"Watch me, Kiwa!" She stood up and spread out her arms, jumping from the tree branch. Tuan watched in horror as she fell for a few terrifying seconds and just before she hit the ground she stopped. Kaoru hovered above the ground, giggling wildly, her ears spinning around like helicopter blades.

"It really is amazing, isn't it?" Falon asked.

"Falon! How did you get her to do this?" Tuan asked flying up to examine the spinning blur that had once been Kaoru's ears.

"She just needed a little coaxing. You were trying to get her to flap her ears but since her ears stick straight up instead of flopping over, I figured it would be more comfortable for her if her ears stayed straight."

Tuan wanted to hit himself. "I should have thought of that!"

"Don't worry about it," Falon laughed. "You were trying to get the work done. The only reason I thought of it was because I have been watching her all week. A little less stressed, might I add. You need to relax, Tuan."

"There isn't really much time for relaxing these days, Falon." Tuan sighed again and Kaoru landed next to him so she could kiss the top of his head. Tuan smiled at her.

"I know it may seem difficult right now, Tuan, but as soon as you leave you'll be able to breathe freely."

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us," Acquila asked, knowing the answer, but wanting it to be different.

Falon smiled sadly, "I cannot go, but I do wish you well on your journey." Falon waved as he turned and flew away.

Acquila looked down at Tuan. "We can leave tonight."


	7. Leaving the Garden

"Come on, Kaoru. It's time to wake up," Taun said, trying to keep his voice time. "We have to get going now."

Kaoru rubbed her eyes. "Sun?" she asked.

"No. We're up before the sun today," he explained to her.

Her eyes widened. "Wooooow." She looked around her, "Kiwa?" Acquila was usually the one who woke her up in the mornings.

"He'll be here soon. I need you to do something for me, okay?"

Kaoru nodded. "Kay, Twan."

"We're going to be leaving soon. As we are going you have to be very quiet. No talking and no giggling, okay?" Kaoru nodded again. "Good, girl."

Acquila flew up behind Tuan. "It's all clear," he whispered. "Everyone is asleep. We should get going."

"Okay, Kaoru. Do you remember that new trick you learned today?" She nodded. "Do you think you can do it again?" Without missing a beat, she lifted into the air, hovering just above Tuan's head. "Good. We are going to go far away soon. As soon as we start to go, you are going to have to follow us. You shouldn't land until we all land." Kaoru tilted her head to the side.

Acquila smiled. "We're going to play a game of Simon says, okay? Can you do what we do?" Kaoru smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

"How long will it take us to get out of here?" Tuan asked.

Acquila turned away from Kaoru to scan the garden. "We won't know until we start moving." Acquila looked at Tuan sadly, "Peaches wasn't around when I flew the perimeter."

"Where do you think he is?"

"I don't know. He could be watching us, but that's a risk we have to be willing to take."

"If he sees that we're leaving, do you think he'll stop us?" Tuan asked, looking around nervously.

"I think the whole reason he's so set on us going is that he thinks Kaoru knows and has seen too much. I think he'll stop us if he thinks we're risking the garden."

Tuan looked at the ground and whispered, "Have you told Falon?"

Acquila bit back a laugh. "You don't think he knows already?"

Tuan nodded and looked back at Kaoru who had drifted back to sleep, and yet she was still hovering in the air. "That's...an interesting development."

"How long do you think she can stay like that?"

"I suppose it becomes an unconscious thought after a while. So it may be for as long as she wants."

"Kaoru, you have to wake up," Acquila said to her, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Kiwa?" Kaoru asked quietly before she fell to the ground, landing hard on her bottom.

"Or until she gets distracted," Tuan amended his previous statement.

Kaoru's bottom lip jutted out as she pouted silently to herself.

"Did you hurt yourself," Acquila asked her.

She shook her head stubbornly.

"Can you do your trick again for us?"

She shook her head again.

"Simon says do as Acquila and Tuan do," Tuan told her. She smiled widely and flew into the air. "We should go now," Tuan told Acquila, "before someone wakes up."

Acquila took the lead, scanning everything around them for movement. Kaoru's eyes were wide. The garden looked different at night and it was scary to her. She stuck close to Tuan, wanting to feel safe.

When they made it to the edge of the garden, Acquila signaled that they should stay close. Kaoru was reluctant. The forest was dense and darker than she had ever seen it. In her baby brain, there could've been any number of monsters could have been waiting just inside the trees to snatch her away. For the first time, she actually let out a small whimper with her pout.

Neither Tuan nor Acquila had anticipated this road bump. They didn't think Kaoru would be afraid of the dark. In fact, she wasn't. She had been awake during night before. There must've been something about the extreme darkness of the forest that had caused an alarm to go off in her brain.

"It'll be fine," Acquila assured her, pulling her forward.

Kaoru pulled back, refusing to go in.

Tuan shook his head, "We'll have to fly over the tree line."

"That'll make us more noticeable."

"She's not going in. We'll never get her through there."

"Sure we will." Acquila took Kaoru's hand. "Close your eyes and just let me pull you through. We'll be out in no time."

Tears gathered in Kaoru's eyes, but she nodded and closed her eyes as tightly as she could.

They had left a little later than they had originally planned, so Acquila wanted to move as fast as they could. They only had a couple of hours before sunrise and they needed to be as far away from the garden as possible.

"I think we are far enough away that we can speak normally," Acquila said. He waited for a response, but none came. He looked over at Kaoru. She appeared to be asleep, only afloat because she had gotten into the habit of flying. This meant that they could fly longer without stopping, only having to rest when he or Tuan needed it; however there seemed to be a new problem. "Tuan?" He looked around frantically, "Tuan!"

* * *

**A/N**

**I've certainly had a productive few months. Hetalia has become my main focus with my Lion King Parody and Macbeth parody, but I've broken the catergories up. I will work on Hetalia during the week and work on Sonic stories on the weekends so all of this will continue to get updated. I appreciate the fact that all of you are still reading and I hope you will continue to read in the future. **

**On a side note, I rewrote the summaries to all of my stories. Which is extra productive on my part. Thanks for reading!**

**Have a good night and please review!**


	8. Peaches and Tuan

Acquila went over his choices quickly. He could leave Kaoru here, set her up in and tree and let her sleep, while he went look for Tuan, or he could take Kaoru with him and try to find Tuan, which may slow him down.

The protective side of him wanted to take Kaoru with him. Leaving her alone could be risky, who knows what may come after her. However, the side of him that had brains realized that bringing her with him could potentially be putting her in more danger. Someone probably kidnapped Tuan and is using him as bait to get Kaoru closer to them.

He nodded to himself. He was going to have to move Kaoru off of the trail they were taking and put her up on a high branch. Camouflaging her with a few leaves would have to take care of protecting her.

As soon as he was satisfied that no one could see Kaoru from the ground and that no one was around a short perimeter, he went back to the trail and marked the spot with a small foot print. He had to retrace their steps for quite a while before he found any evidence of a struggle. A few of the bushes around the area were bent out of shape and there was a disturbance in the Earth that showed that they were rolling around in dirt for a while.

"How is it possible that I didn't hear anything?" Acquila muttered to himself as he inspected the area. A part of him wondered if Tuan had stayed silent on purpose to protect Kaoru. He probably thought that if he made any kind of noises other people would've woken up and came looking, or that Acquila would've tried to fight back. Both situations would've put Kaoru in danger. Does that mean Tuan would want him to take Kaoru and go on without him?

Acquila shook his head. He couldn't do that. Tuan had been with him since they found Kaoru. They had become close friends, and frankly, Acquila couldn't picture taking care of Kaoru without Tuan around. They sort of balanced each other out.

The best thing for him to do would be to go after Tuan... And hope Kaoru didn't wake up and leave her spot in the tree in the meantime. He'd have to arrive prepared and act as fast as he possibly could.

Following the trail turned out to be a whole lot easier than Acquila thought it would be. When he arrived on the scene Tuan was tied to a tree, and even though he didn't have a gag in his mouth, he wasn't talking or screaming for help.

"I'm only going to ask this one more time," Peaches hissed. "Where. Are. You. Taking. Her."

Tuan's eyes were pointed upward. He seemed to be searching for help in the sky.

"You're spies aren't you? The whole lot of you? You and Acquila probably arranged for that mangy little hair to get dropped off in our forest. You arrange for her to be found and out of "the kindness of your hearts" you took her in and raised her! And now the three of you are on your way out so you can bring in your reinforcements so you can take over the garden!"

Acquila wanted to laugh. He couldn't believe that Peaches was really this paranoid. He bit his lip to hold back the laughter. They were in a dangerous situation and he couldn't afford to give himself away.

"And Falon, too, right? Falon was there right along with you! The way he hovered around the brat as much as possible. It's so obvious to me now! All of you want the chao gardens to become extinct. Ha! And everyone trusted Falon so much!"

Acquila was becoming very nervous. Peaches was being too loud and they were way too close to the chao garden. If anyone else were to wake up they would be in deep trouble. There had to be a way to quiet him down.

"If I'm the one to bring this whole thing to light... I could be, like, king of the chao!"

"Falon was not in on anything," Tuan mumbled.

"So you admit that there was something!" Peaches face lit up now that Tuan was finally talking.

"I did not say that," Tuan said quietly.

"Then why would you say only Falon's name?" Peaches hissed. "Why wouldn't you say 'We weren't in on anything.'?"

Tuan chuckled lightly. "I don't know, Peaches. Maybe it's the same reason you took me instead of taking all of us. Tell me, Peaches. If you thought we were all spies trying to take over or destroy the Chao garden, why would you only take me? Why wouldn't you have back up so you could take all of us?" Tuan shook his head. "No one believes you, anymore, do they? You told them about us being spies and they believed you, but then you brought Falon into it and you lost all of their trust. You did all of this so you could become this so called "King of the Chao," a title that doesn't even exist, and now no one would believe you unless you had someone confess. You're _alone._"

"If you go missing," Peaches hissed, "no one will know. I will tell them all you escaped with the other two, and everyone will believe me. And the other two, they'll think you abandoned them. No one will miss you. And it'll only prove to the garden that I was right."

Acquila was about to jump forward and tell Peaches that his plan had been foiled, but from behind him and clear as day he heard, "Twan?"


	9. Acquila and Peaches

Peaches whirled around in surprise and narrowed his eyes at the chao that had been eavesdropping on his plan.

Acquila, on the other hand, barely took notice to Peaches's venomous look. He was staring straight ahead with his eyes widened drastically. The plan he had been building up in his mind was suddenly lying on the ground in front of him, falling apart as soon as the baby appeared. There was nothing he could do with Kaoru staying close by.

He barely had the mind to wonder how long Kaoru would've had to been following him for her to be able to find him so easily. She couldn't have been that far behind. How had she been able to stay quiet for so long? And why was she suddenly making noise now?

"I see," Peaches said in response to the long silence. "You knew all along that your little friend was gone and were just waiting in the shadows. You're smarter than I originally took you for, Acquila. Honestly, I thought you were just the muscle of the operation."

Acquila's mind was whirling. Muscle? When had he ever shown any kind of strength? All he did was fight to take care of a baby... That had nothing to do with strength. In reality, that was pretty weak, wasn't it? How could Peaches come to the conclusion that he was strong?

"I figured as long as I could get Tuan away from you, I'd win for sure. But look. Now you're here and it's three against one. That's hardly fair."

What was Peaches talking about? They weren't looking for a fight. They were never looking for a fight. This whole ordeal turned into a power struggle in Peaches mind, but all they wanted to do was do the right thing. That opportunity didn't come by often when you're being protected by the chao garden. Mostly chao just... played and relaxed... At least the chao in their garden.

But then Peaches starts to make a fuss about spies and danger... all over a little hare. Which somehow starts an uprising. Can it really be that simple? Can Peaches really be feeling threatened over a _baby?_

"I just don't see how that's possible," Acquila said aloud, shaking his head.

"You don't see how it's _possible_ for that sort of fight to be unfair?" Peaches hissed.

Acquila shook his head. "I don't see how it's possible for such a small child to be of any threat to you. How is a child going to go out into the world and..."

Tuan looked over Peaches's shoulder and made eye contact with Acquila. He shook his head slightly as if to say "that's not it at all" and looked away.

Acquila closed his eyes. Tuan has already figured it out. He figured out what's going on with Peaches and why it's so important. Did Peaches tell him before he had made it to this clearing? Right now, it's up to him to move Kaoru to safety and come back for Tuan before Peaches can do anything to him. Is it possible to get all of that done?

He opened his eyes again as he remembered something. "You aren't threatened by Kaoru," Acquila said, locking eyes with Peaches. "You were never threatened by Kaoru." He looked over at Tuan, hoping his thoughts were on the right track.

"Of course I'm not threatened by that thing," Peaches hissed. "Why would I be threatened by a child? I simply want to do what's right and protect our garden. Have you no respect for our garden? Do you want it to be taken over, taken from us? If you don't..."

"But that's the same excuse you've been using this whole time," Acquila said. "Surely by now you have some sort of proof that says Kaoru is a spy sent here from somewhere else. You must have found a microphone hidden on her person. Maybe you found traces of people spying on us from the forest. Obviously Kaoru alone can't do anything, so you _must_ have found something else. Something to give as proof to all the people you rallied together."

"What are you talking about? What proof do you need?"

Acquila shook his head. "You know, Peaches, as I was listening to you talk, I started to pick out a bit of a different dialect. I guess we've all forgotten because we've known you for so long, but if I remember correctly, you came from a different garden." He glanced back at Tuan and saw that Tuan was smiling. He was on the right track.

"What does that have anything to do with what's going on?"

"Why did you leave your other garden?" Acquila asked calmly.

"My garden was attacked. It was taken over. I _had _to leave," Peaches said through clenched teeth. "What choice did I have?"

"That's not it at all," Acquila whispered. "You're threatened by Kaoru because she became an important part of the garden. By adopting her, a lot of people changed their normal patterns so they would involve playing with her or doing something with her. We stopped having so many garden meetings. Falon became fascinated with her and wasn't alone as often. You aren't scared that Kaoru is a spy. You're just upset because she took up all the attention and made us change our ways."

"What are you going on about? See! It's hanging around with her that made you begin to think this! I am not an attention seeker, Acquila. I'm not jealous of her."

"I never said you were jealous of her. I said you were threatened by her. She took all of the attention and so you weren't able to get your job done. You moved to our garden because _you _are the spy. You were sent here to see what we did and what our secrets may have been. But with Falon and so many others captivated by Kaoru, you had no one to talk to find anything out."

Peaches's jaw clenched noticeably and he refused to say anything. Behind him, Tuan was flying closer, nothing keeping him attached to the tree he had been against original. Acquila just had to keep Peaches occupied for just a few seconds longer, they were obviously right about everything.

"So the only way to take everyone's attention away from Kaoru," he continued, "was to get rid of her. Try to make other Chao see "reason." Tell me Peaches, those chao that were rallied with you. Were they even from our garden? Or did they come from yours?"

Peaches smirked and tilted his head at Acquila, looking at him with pity. "You think you've got it all figured out, don't you? No one will believe anything you say. You can't prove that any of it is true."

Peaches suddenly shot forward, his face full of anger, but Tuan came up behind him and hit him with a large branch, causing the Chao to fall to the ground.

"You take Kaoru away from here," Tuan ordered. "I'll go back and warn the others. I'll meet you soon."


	10. The Drop Off

"Kiwa?" Kaoru asked nervously as they flew quickly away from the clearing.

"Shh," Acquila hushed her. "It'll be fine." He tightened his grip on her hand and pushed himself faster.

Kaoru's eyes widened but she didn't say anything more. She stayed away during the entire journey through the forest, it seemed like a long time though. When they made it out the other side, they were standing behind a house. Acquila pulled her forward, looking through the windows of the house. No one seemed to wake, which made sense because the sun was only just starting to rise.

He quickly pulled her around the house and down the street that it was on.

_"The farther I get her away from the forest the better. I have to make sure she won't find her way back." _He glanced back at her, only to see her nodding off. "_If she sleeps for a while, I won't have to bring her much further. She won't know which way to go back."_

Acquila led Kaoru quickly down the street and onto the next one, travelling as far as he dared to go without getting lost himself. When he stopped he peered into the windows of nearby houses until he found one where a young mother was waking up with a child who was just about four, two years older than Kaoru. Knowing that this woman had another child made Acquila feel as if this was Kaoru's best chance.

"Kaoru," he whispered to her, pulling her to the front of the house, "wake up."

"Kiwa," the young Hare said without opening her eyes.

"Can you land?"

Kaoru lowered herself to the ground and curled up in a little ball, still snoozing, right in front of the front door.

"Kaoru, are you listening?"

"Yeah, Kiwa," she sighed.

"I need you to do me a really really big favor, can you do that?"

"Yeah, Kiwa."

"Honey, open your eyes."

She opened her eyes, yawning, looking up at Acquila, trying her best not to fall asleep.

"You know how we taught you to fly? That was fun, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I need you to do something for me, okay? I need you to never fly ever, ever, again, alright?"

"Eva?"

"Ever, Kaoru. It's really important, okay?"

Kaoru looked at him and yawned again, closing her eyes. "Yeah, Kiwa."

Acquila looked around him. If Kaoru never flied, she would have less of a chance of finding them ever again. Less of a chance to leave this place. "Kaoru, what did I just tell you? Do you remember?"

"No fly eva," she sighed.

"Good, girl." Acquila stared at her for a few moments, making sure she was asleep, before turning and flying off.

* * *

"Where is she?" Peaches hissed the next morning back at the garden. "Where did you take her?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Peaches," Tuan sighed, continuing on with his work.

"Where is Acquila and that little brat?" he asked louder.

"Wherever Acquila decided to take Kaoru is his own business, Peaches. I'm sure they just went on a stroll and will be back soon. I never knew you cared so much for her, to be honest."

"This isn't over, Tuan," Peaches said through gritted teeth. "I will get her out of this garden if it's the last thing I do."

After Peaches left Tuan, Falon flew over to him.

Tuan looked up, "Thanks."

"It was only a little bit of him memory. You hitting him over the head was almost enough to do it, my coaxing just accelerated it a bit."

"Are you sure he'll never remember the fight in the forest?"

"I am sure."

"And you couldn't have gone further back with his memory, to a point when he was less... hostile?"

The old chao shook his head slowly. "It would seem suspicious to the others, but maybe with her gone now, he'll begin to act like his old self again. And everything will begin to return to normal."

"It's certainly quieter around here," Tuan sighed, looking around at the garden. The small group of chao that had taken to following Kaoru around in the last two years were sitting at the edge of the lake, staring out into the sky. A few were standing in the water, splashing each other, but the giggling that normally rang through the garden was gone. "Maybe it's better to erase everyone's memory."

"You know that's not possible. Everyone will feel her absence for a while, but soon they'll return to their own selves."

* * *

Acquila entered the garden just after sun down, only returning after seeing how the mother had reacted to Kaoru's presence and making sure she would be taken care of. He knew better than to act any way other than how he was actually feeling, distressed. He was worried for her and didn't like the idea that she was gone. Acquila was slightly relieved to have found someone so easily, but he couldn't let it out. He had to let his darker emotions rise if his plan was going to work.

"You!" Peaches saw Acquila straight away and ambushed him. "Where's the rabbit?"

Acquila looked at Peaches and let the pain fill his eyes. "Gone."

"Gone?" Peaches's loudness carried across the garden and a few surrounding chao flew over. "What do you mean she's gone? You released her?" The angry chao's voice was growing louder with every word and caught the attention of everyone around.

Tuan and Falon approached, standing behind Peaches at a distance, conveying to Acquila through signals that Peaches remembered nothing.

"No," Acquila whispered, looking down at the ground. "I didn't release her."

"Then where is she Acquila?" Peaches yelled. "Don't think you can duck the question!"

"She's dead, Peaches."

Peaches pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes, studying Acquila. "How?"

"I was walking with her in the forest and a large branch snapped, falling on top of her. Crushed her entire body. She was dead instantly."

Clenching his jaw, Peaches nodded. "I guess the problem is handled then."

"Is that really all you have to say?" Tuan asked from behind him. "The problem is handled."

"Isn't that all that matters?" Around him a few chao backed away, shocked at his words. "Isn't it?"


End file.
